The idea of searching for a job in this economy is daunting. The interplay between jobs that are disappearing and new ones created to take their place is heavily weighted in favor the disappeared. Add to that the reality of being at the stage of life where your chin is plural (double), in other words sixty years old, it becomes uber daunting.
Its easy to get caught in no man's land when it comes to strategy. Total networking, a form of salesmanship, or internet/Linked-in. Do search companies (employment agencies) work? Just how do you connect with the right people when you've never met them?
Rule 1 has to be, find a strategy that keeps you engaged and refreshed. The two are not mutually exclusive. Even if you never had a tendency towards depression before, you are vulnerable during times of job loss. Sliding down that hole is a bigger obstacle than anything because it is the first thing that happens to the job seeker.
First, concentrate on the fact that this is not your fault. You were not fired, you were laid off. There wasn't anything you could have done to prevent it. It was out of your hands. When you accept that, you will have conquered the 800 pound gorilla in the room with you.
Second, develop a strategy for focusing on something outside of the job search. It has to be something you do everyday as a mental and spiritual vacation. Mediation, yoga, an exercise routine, writing, something that you can accomplish and refresh your mind.
Third, talk to your spouse. This is a time of your life where you don't have to be meeting the next deadline, living up to the bosses expectations, making sure the next performance evaluation has a snowballs chance in hell of including a raise. Your spouse is your biggest fan and also a resource. The time focused on each other is a means of recharging your spirit.
Fourth, seek out people that know more than you do. Ask them how to search, where to search, what is out there to go after. The tendency toward isolation is in all of us.
Resisting isolation will bear fruit in the sense that while you are asking the questions, you are also networking. You are in the job hunt, activley pursuing a resolution to your employment and having some success doing it in another persons presence.
Notice I didn't give any advise about the search itself. The foundation of the search process is the searcher. A clear, informed mind will find a solution. The process is important but has to be executed by that clear committed mind. Taking care of your mind, your outlook on the situation, and utilizing that wondrous asset on the couch next to you (spouse) is the beginning of it all. And this time of your life is only temporary. REALLY HONEST TO BRETT FAVRE WITHOUT A DOUBT
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Advertise? - Where?
Counselors Chris Trail and G.T. Bynum propose raising additional revenue by placing ads on city vehicles. Congratulations for thinking outside the billboard. Is this really a net addition to city revenue?
First, both Trail and Bynum are intelligent men. Trail has run a restaurant widely known in Tulsa. That industry in a notoriously tough environment in which to survive, let alone profit and prosper. Bynum has a more diverse career going on. His public utterances on city issues are at least articulate and original, even if I don't always agree with him. The source of the idea is credible.
It's also not all that practical. The proposal was to advertise on city vehicles and property. The vehicles are a problem. They are small and already have verbiage and/or ID numbers on them. How much space is left on a truck or sedan? Further, given the available space, the vehicles would have to stationary or travelling very slow for anyone to read the ad. And by the way, could this advertising include police cars and fire trucks? I wonder if that's even legal. I am certainly not ready to see a fire truck racing by me on a call while extolling the value of a Little Debbie snack cake. Something of a credibility issue there.
As far as city property, would the signage ordinances even allow it? The TMAPC is from time to time hearing cases and requests about variances to the sign ordinances for billboards. If the Bynum - Trail idea envisions billboards, who would pay to construct it? What are the operating costs if it is digital? If these are the more standard wood frame or metal frame sings, who maintains them?
Most importantly, who establishes the rates the city will charge? Surely there isn't an employee already on the city payroll that has experiencing establishing ad rates in this market. Is this another "consultant" the city will have to hire?
Keep in mind this idea is VOAB (Void of Any Benefit) if its not a net positive cash flow. And it could well become another boondoggle if all the costs are not tracked through a newly established enterprise fund that accumulates all the costs and revenues from the advertising activity.
Bynum was careful to emphasize that this is something to evaluated first (my words, not his). True enough, here's hoping that evaluation is with an open mind. The devil is in the details.
First, both Trail and Bynum are intelligent men. Trail has run a restaurant widely known in Tulsa. That industry in a notoriously tough environment in which to survive, let alone profit and prosper. Bynum has a more diverse career going on. His public utterances on city issues are at least articulate and original, even if I don't always agree with him. The source of the idea is credible.
It's also not all that practical. The proposal was to advertise on city vehicles and property. The vehicles are a problem. They are small and already have verbiage and/or ID numbers on them. How much space is left on a truck or sedan? Further, given the available space, the vehicles would have to stationary or travelling very slow for anyone to read the ad. And by the way, could this advertising include police cars and fire trucks? I wonder if that's even legal. I am certainly not ready to see a fire truck racing by me on a call while extolling the value of a Little Debbie snack cake. Something of a credibility issue there.
As far as city property, would the signage ordinances even allow it? The TMAPC is from time to time hearing cases and requests about variances to the sign ordinances for billboards. If the Bynum - Trail idea envisions billboards, who would pay to construct it? What are the operating costs if it is digital? If these are the more standard wood frame or metal frame sings, who maintains them?
Most importantly, who establishes the rates the city will charge? Surely there isn't an employee already on the city payroll that has experiencing establishing ad rates in this market. Is this another "consultant" the city will have to hire?
Keep in mind this idea is VOAB (Void of Any Benefit) if its not a net positive cash flow. And it could well become another boondoggle if all the costs are not tracked through a newly established enterprise fund that accumulates all the costs and revenues from the advertising activity.
Bynum was careful to emphasize that this is something to evaluated first (my words, not his). True enough, here's hoping that evaluation is with an open mind. The devil is in the details.
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